AUSTIN, TX.- The College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin has named Professor Robert Ramirez as chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance. Ramirez, head of the Acting program in the department, has been serving as interim chair since summer 2019.

“Robert Ramirez has been an able leader this past year, and in recent weeks, he’s faced about as big a challenge as our college has ever known: a global pandemic,” said Doug Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “Robert has risen to the challenge with grace, and his dedication to his students and faculty has been inspiring to witness. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to guide the department in the coming years.”

Ramirez, who joined the faculty in the UT Department of Theatre and Dance in 2014 as head of the Acting program, will be the first Latinx chair of the department. Ramirez is a graduate of the Los Angeles Theatre Academy and received his M.F.A. from the Professional Theatre Training Program at the University of Delaware. He is a member of Actors Equity, the Voice and Speech Trainers Association, The National Theater Conference and is the current vice president of the University Resident Theater Association.

In his professional work, Ramirez has maintained an active career as an actor, director and vocal coach. He has served as voice and text director at the Guthrie Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, American Players Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse and has most recently collaborated on a tri-production with Hartford Stage, the Huntington Theatre Company and the Alley Theater. He has performed with the New York, Notre Dame, Utah, Illinois, Alabama, Great River, Baltimore and Wisconsin Shakespeare Festivals and Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Ramirez has directed productions and staged readings for Austin Shakespeare, American Players Theatre and Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre and has been an acclaimed narrator of audiobooks for more than 20 years, receiving numerous Golden Earphones Awards from Audiophile magazine.

“I'm proud and honored to be in a position where I can be of service to our students and faculty during this tremendously difficult time,” said Ramirez. “I’m inspired by the creativity and resilience of our community every day, and I look forward to leading our department into its next chapter.”